


whenever you need me

by valkyriepilot



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Cold, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fainting, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post Movie, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 13:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21037316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyriepilot/pseuds/valkyriepilot
Summary: Lio doesn't know why he feels so cold and so hot at the same time. He supposes he's just not used to the weather. But he definitely can't let it get in the way of doing his work. He won't let himself be a burden.Especially not to Galo.





	whenever you need me

**Author's Note:**

> My first Promare fic! I love Lio and Galo so much, I absolutely needed to write something for them, and what better than a sick fic? I really hope I did the characters justice!
> 
> Enjoy!

Lio can't tell if he's warm or cold.

Lio had woken up in the middle of the night, boiling under the weight of his blankets. That's not unusual, ever since the loss of the Promare the changes in temperature during the day have been hard to get used to. He'd kicked the blankets off to the side guessing that the temperature had simply raised over night. Hoping that simple action would fix the problem, he tried to get back to sleep.

But now with the sunrise spilling into his sparse bedroom hours later, he was still staring at the ceiling. Not too long after he'd thrown the blankets aside he started shivering and ended up pulling one back over himself. At this point the blanket was tangled between his legs, not doing anything to combat the way he was shivering and sweating.

Now that the weather was changing with coming of Autumn, he supposes he'll have to get used to the discomfort.

The sudden blare of his alarm clock has him groaning in frustration. No chance of any more sleep then, but it's fine. He's worked without sleep before. This is nothing to him.

Still, as he sits up and pulls on his clothes he's acutely aware of the tremble in his limbs. His muscles feel weak and pulling each of his belts on and fastening them is difficult with unstable fingers. But he pushes through it and is soon out the door, heading towards Burning Rescue to start another long day of work.

As soon as he's outside he's struck by a cold breeze, making him stiffen and wrap his arms around himself in attempt to stay warm. Galo has been pestering him to get better clothes for the upcoming cold weather season, given that his usual leather won't do much to stop the chill. Lio usually follows those comments up with some sort of snipe about how the fire fighter is legitimately always shirtless, but at the moment he's wishing he would have listened.

But somehow even though he's shivering like mad, he still feels drips of sweat at his brow and neck.

Entering Burning Rescue's building is almost like heaven, the morning chill wiped out by the heating. Sure there's the consequence of only making him sweat more, but Lio prefers the warmth. The lack of the Promare's heat is almost unbearable, and there's nothing that compares to the all encompassing fire.

Except maybe the moments where Galo's arms wrap around him, banishing the cold and making him feel comfort-

Lio shakes his head. It's no time to get distracted when he has enough to worry about. He passes through the break room where Remi is seated at the table, glasses slipping down his nose as he reads a newspaper and sips at his coffee.

"Good morning," the man greets boredly, not even bothering to look up. "There's coffee brewed. Galo told me to tell you there's pizza he left if you need breakfast."

He should be hungry, but the thought of eating anything has Lio's stomach churning in displeasure. The nausea is too much and he has to close his eyes and wait for the sensation to pass. "...no thanks. Is Galo not here?"

"Went out, non emergency call," Remi answers, still focused on his paper. "Should be back soon enough. Aina's in back if you want to get started."

"Right," Lio mumbles. He shuffles off towards where he knows Aina will be, trying to ignore the aroma of coffee only making his stomach act up worse.

It's been weeks since the Promare left, and though there's still a lot left to rebuild, things have settled down. Given that Burning Rescue is heading the recovery efforts in addition to its general fire fighting duties, Lio agreed to becoming a full time part of the team much to Galo's delight. It's only his third official day, but Galo has been showing him the ropes. There's a lot more to firefighting than he thought.

With Galo absent though, Aina makes a fantastic mentor. She's been helping the entire time, having to give proper explanations given Galo's tendency to get caught up in passionate and overexagerated descriptions of their duties. He gets along with her well, bonding over their exasperation at Galo's nature.

And given their budding friendship, it's no surprise that she notices something is off.

"Good morning, Lio," she says cheerfully as she steps away from her mech. As soon as her eyes land on him though, her smile fades. "Hey, are you alright? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, don't worry," he dismisses, only to flinch back when she leans in scrutinizingly.

"You sure? You look pale." Her brow furrows. "Well, paler than usual."

"I'm fine," he insists, leaning away from her in an attempt to disguise the continuous shivers. Seriously, he's almost boiling hot now, why is he still shivering? "Just didnt sleep well. We should get started. What are you showing me today?"

"If you're sure..." she says uncertainly, before her demeanor shifts, smile back on her face as she leads him up to her mech. "Well, you've already seen it in action and all, but we thought you could ride with me today. So I'll give you a quick rundown of how this all works."

She's quickly into her explanation, gazing proudly up at her mech, but Lio can barely hear her. As he steps closer, the world around him seems to lurch unnaturally. He wobbles on his feet as his vision is getting blurry, and he can't seem to focus on any one thing.

What's happening? It's not like he slept that little. This shouldn't be enough to take him out.

He can tell when Aina turns to face him, but he can't focus on her face. Everything's getting blurrier, spinning, dizzying.

"...io? Lio!" Her voice is the last thing he hears before the world goes black around him.

* * *

Lio wakes up, face pressed to something warm, supported carefully in familiar arms. There's muffled voices above and all around him, but he feels too exhausted to try to listen in. The warmth against his cheek is comforting and he can't help but lean into it, letting out a weary breath.

"He's awake!" A loud and very familar voice sounds out, quickly followed by a chorus of shushes. "Ah, sorry, sorry. Lio, you okay?"

Lio's eyes crack open, and slowly coming into focus above him is Galo's relieved face. There's something like deja vu about it, finding himself held in Galo's arms, feeling safe in his presence. But it's somehow sweeter this time, tucked in closer, almost cradled to the tall firefighter's chest. "Galo? When did you get here?"

Upon hearing his voice, Galo's face lights up. "Got back a couple minutes ago, just after you passed out. Good timing, right?"

Lio huffs out a laugh, but ends up coughing. "Sorry for the trouble."

"Don't worry about it," Aina suddenly leans in above both of them, making Galo jump. "But next time you're sick you can stay home, you know?"

"I'm sick?" Lio says, things finally clicking into place in his head. It would make sense, wouldn't it?

"Uh yeah, obviously," Galo says, shooting Aina a worried look before turning back to him. "People don't just pass out for nothing, plus you've got a fever."

Galo's hold shifts, and he presses the back of his hand to Lio's forehead. Lio knows that usually Galo runs extremely hot, but somehow the hand pressed to his skin is cool, soothing him momentarily. Lio reaches his own hand up to hold it in place, despite his feeble grasp.

"You should bring him home," he hears Aina mumble to Galo.

"Right." Everything shifts and for a moment Lio's worried he's passing out again, until he realizes Galo has simply stood up.

"I can walk," he argues, though as soon as the words leave his mouth he doubts them.

"Yeah, of course you can," Galo indulges him, before shooting him his trademark bright grin. "But it'll be faster this way. Plus my burning firefighter's soul will keep you warm in this terrible fall wind!"

He goes to pose for emphasis but jostles Lio in the process, for which he apologizes immediately. Aina's soon shoving them out the door, and Lio's shivering in the cold once again.

Galo adjusts his position to better block him from the wind, and they're off towards the apartment block they both live in. The subtle shifts with each step Galo takes are relaxing, and Lio finds his eyes drifting shut once more. But no sleep comes as Galo's voice cuts in again, this time softer. "Lio, how did you not realize you were sick?"

Lio could joke it off, but there's a sincerity, mixed with true worry in Galo's voice that holds him back. "The Promare stopped Burnish from getting sick. The viruses would just burn up before they could infect us. I just thought the weather was bad."

It's true. Lio can't recall being sick for as long as his memory reaches, and given the severity of the Burnish's situation he had scarcely given it a thought since the Promare's departure. He supposes this is the consequence of that oversight.

"You've seriously never been sick?" Galo asks incredulously, pushing open the doors to the apartments and heading for the elevator. "Well don't worry, you've got me to look after you now! I'll make sure you feel better."

Lio laughs weakly, barely restraining another cough. "Now I'm even more worried."

He smiles at Galo's indignant 'hmph' and finally opens his eyes when Galo carefully maneuvers them through another door and into an apartment. The surroundings aren't what he expects though.

"Galo," he says, as Galo struggles to kick off his shoes without setting Lio down. "This your apartment."

"It sure is," Galo confirms, carrying the smaller man further into the apartment towards the worn down couch. "I figure if you didn't even know you were sick, you wouldn't have medicine. So this works out fine, right?"

Lio doesn't respond, noting how carefully Galo settles him into the couch. He shivers as he pulls away to grab blankets, missing the comforting warmth immediately. Galo's warmth is nothing like the hot and cold flashes that consistently wrack his body. Galo's touch is welcome, and he finds himself craving it like he did the Promare.

The reason for that is obvious. He won't delude himself calling it Galo's natural body heat alone. He loves this idiot firefighter more than he can describe.

Galo drapes several blankets around Lio's shoulders before grinning up at him. "There! Comfortable?"

"As much as I can be," he mumbles into the corner of fabric as he pulls it tighter around himself.

"Great! Now sit tight, I'll get you some soup and meds." Galo stands quickly, quashing Lio's hope for shared warmth. He frowns at Galo's back as he walks away.

"Don't you need to get to work?" he calls over to the kitchen through a cough. "You don't even know how to cook."

He instantly regrets raising his voice. His head spins again, and he leans back on the couch to stable himself.

"Take it easy, I can make canned soup just fine!" Galo responds throwing another smile over his shoulder as he fumbles with the microwave. "And they can manage without me for one day. I want to stay and make sure you're okay."

The words make something flutter in his heart. Galo is always taking care of other people, but to have that all turned on him at once is a lot.

But still.

"I can take care of myself," he says, quiet enough he's not sure Galo can hear him from the other side of the apartment. The moment of silence that follows almost convinces him that he hadn't.

Galo returns with a spoon and large steaming bowl. "Careful, it's hot."

The words might just be force of habit for most people, but for Lio it's a legitimate concern. He's burned himself enough in the past several weeks that he second guesses picking anything up without checking.

"Thanks," he says, lifting a small spoonful and blowing at the steaming broth. After a moment, he takes the bite only flinching mildly as the heat touches his lips. It tastes as good as a can of condensed soup could taste, but it feels good on his throat.

Galo sits beside him as he eats, strangely quiet but also peaceful. He waits until Lio is done before speaking. "I know you can take care of yourself, Lio. But you don't have to do everything on your own anymore."

The words are more poignant than he'd expected, and Lio turns to face him. Galo leans in and wraps an arm around Lio's blanket covered shoulders, melting the lingering chill in his body. Galo's gaze is so earnest it almost hurts him to maintain eye contact.

Lio bites his lip and averts his eyes. "We're all busy. I don't want to be a burden on anyone when so many people already need our help."

"I know where you're coming from, but you won't be able to help anyone if you don't take care of yourself, right?" Galo says, squeezing Lio's shoulder lightly. "You're important, Lio. And we all care about you. None of us want to see you suffering."

Lio hums in acknowledgment. The team of Burning Rescue are all just... more kind than he can handle. After being enemies it stuns him how quickly they've come to care so much. Just like Meis and Gueira get on his case about staying safe, but much more open in their gestures. To have Galo at least accept him as a teammate is important to him. That camaraderie is something he cherishes.

"I mean it, Lio," Galo says. "Especially me. I care about you so much."

"Galo," he says, almost chiding him. He feels a heat spreading across his cheeks unbidden.

“Anything I can do to help you, I’ll do it. You mean so much to me.” Lio glances back up to see Galo looking sheepish. “Not just because you helped save the world, or any of that. Because it’s you, and I love you.”

Lio’s eyes widen.

“I know this isn’t the greatest time, and I’m not the best at reading the situation. But maybe… you love me too?” Galo says quietly, hopeful smile making Lio’s heart twist painfully in his chest.

“Galo, I-” a coughing fit cuts him off, making him double over as he tries to catch his breath. Galo squawks and rubs at his back in an attempt to steady him.

“Sorry, sorry!” he says quickly, “You need to take some medicine and get some rest, I shouldn’t have dumped that on you now. Hang on.”

Galo jumps up from the couch and rushes into the kitchen. Lio wants to stop him, to call him back but all he can do is cough. If being sick wasn’t frustrating enough already then this was definitely what would put it over the edge.

Galo returns after a couple minutes of rummaging through his cupboards, squinting at the label of bottle of pills and carrying a glass of water. He softens his gaze as he faces Lio once more, offering him the glass of water first. Lio drinks half without a thought, savoring the way the itch in his throat fades away.

“Now you should take two of these pills, should make your fever go down,” Galo says, glaring one last time at the pill bottle before offering it to Lio. “It’ll probably make you tired though, sorry.”

Lio takes the pills without question, with another sip of water to wash them down, but it’s not what’s important to him at the moment and he puts the items aside quickly. Not when he can tell Galo’s standing a bit more stiffly. “Galo, I wanted to tell you-”

“It’s okay!” Galo says, waving his hands in dismissal. “I shouldn’t have said anything, you’re sick. We can talk about it when you’re better. Everyone always says I’m terrible at this so-”

“_No._” Lio grits his teeth when raising his voice scratches at his throat once more. “Galo, I love you too. You matter just as much to me.”

Galo’s frozen for a moment before his face lights up. “Lio….”

“So… if you ever need me to take care of you too, I will.” Lio’s face is burning again, to the point where if he were still Burnish he’d be afraid to set the room aflame. “And I’ll try to be better about asking you for help. I didn’t mean to worry you today.”

“It’s fine. We’re still figuring this out, right?” Galo drops to his knees so he matches Lio’s eye level sitting on the couch, and Lio has a moment to rue the difference in their heights. One of Galo’s hands cups Lio’s cheek, and before he knows it Galo is leaning in.

A quick shove to the chest sends Galo backwards with a light yelp. The questioning quirk to his eyebrow is all Lio needs to feel exasperated. “I’m _sick_, you idiot. You can’t kiss me.”

“...oh.” Galo offers a shrug then leans forward again. “I can do this much at least.”

A pair of lips press to Lio’s forehead, softer than he could have imagined and oh so sweet. And the gentle smile Galo offers him after? The most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

He hooks one of his fingers through Galo’s belt, tugging him forward until he can properly hug him, face buried in the crook of Galo’s neck. Galo wraps his arms around him in turn, surrounding him in sweet, pleasant warmth. It’s like heaven.

Lio slowly tugs Galo more until they’re laying side by side on the couch. Galo spares a hand to rearrange the blankets as their legs tangle together, pressing kisses to the top of Lio’s head as they settle in.

“You’ll… stay with me, right?” Lio asks, voice muffled as presses his face to Galo’s shoulder.

“Of course,” Galo says, almost with a laugh. “I’ll be here when you wake up. Get some rest and we’ll be back to working together tomorrow.”

Lio smiles, eyes drifting shut a final time as he finally succumbs to a much needed sleep, safe in the arms of the person he loves.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, I'd really love to hear your thoughts! Comments help keep me motivated and help me to improve for future fic!


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